Located in Xintiandi Commercial Street in the central area of Shanghai, Nanmu Studio is a three-storey building featured Phoebe zhennan S. Lee (also called nanmu), which is the most important Phoebe plant and is also a rare and extremely valuable wood in China. This commercial space promotes and displays the stationery treasures of the traditional Chinese study culture. Through the delicate and subtle lighting environment, it creates an immersive modern literati’s life scene, showing a natural, elegant and genial study context.
The first two floors are exhibition spaces for furniture and stationery made of nanmu. The products vary in size, ranging from high cabinets with a height of 2 to 3 meters to small waist tags and bracelets. Different kinds of items are displayed by group and highlighted under the lighting with different beam angles, creating the segments of a literati’s study life. Taken advantage of the horizontal metal beams of the original building, a structure is designed to conceal the linear lights upwards and embed the track lighting systems downwards, so that the hollowed space can display changing contents. Meanwhile, the lighting system can be adjusted flexibly at any time according to the changes of display on the ground, which is very convenient. The metal mesh partitions are washed and brightened to enrich the level and Zen of space, where the display can be dimly visible. The main hall study scene emphasizes a sense of ritual, so the symmetrical floor lamp is used to enhance the light and shadow contrast of the extremely delicate dragon and cloud carvings on the furniture by illuminating it at a 45-degree angle.
Handrail is designed on the side walls by the stairway. Combined with the lighting, it creates a friendly and gentle walking light environment, which integrates function and experience in a perfect way.
The third floor is an open space for members. The scenes here are more abundant and the collections are more complicated and exquisite. The main method of lighting is still using the track spotlight system above the ceiling structure, in which different power and angle can create a different scene atmosphere. At the same time, the nanmu furniture shape and decoration are projected on the wall through lighting at a special angle, enriching light and shadow levels in the space.
Wandering in Nanmu Studio, each step is a new scene. The lighting design not only satisfies the function of displaying and selling nanmu products, but also successfully creates a comfortable and relaxing study room. This project is also a respect to traditional craftsmanship and literati in China.
